Saturday, March 2, 2013

{Slow Cooker} Lentil & Black Bean Soup ($0.23 per cup)

Okay, folks time to get back on the super-ultra-mega-healthy track. Technically, it could also be known as the easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy track... or the dirt-cheap track. Take your pick.

This recipe makes me so happy, I could cry.

It's yummy.

It's healthy.

It's cheap.

It's easy.

It's even VEGAN.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to do an experiment with a small bag of dry lentils I found buried in my food storage supply. I haven't eaten very many lentils in my lifetime (a complete and utter shame), but when I have, I've LOVED them!

Honestly, what's not to love? Lentils have a delicious earthly flavor, and are packed with protein, fiber, and folate.

I had looked online to find an inspirational recipe containing lentils, and came across this one, but it still wasn't quite what I wanted. However, it served as a starting point. In my mind's eye, I pictured creating a hearty soup packed with lentils, TONS of (hidden-so-the-kids-won't-notice) veggies and absolutely no meat involved.

I raided my fridge and food storage, and came back with the lentils, half of a small bag of dry black beans that looked lonely (you could sub 2 cans of black beans), some carrots, canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, and spices, and VOILA!! A perfectly delicious vegan concoction that tastes amazing. It is also great served with multi-grain crackers, a crusty baguette, or over rice, which is how my kids prefer it.

You can choose to pre-soak your lentils and beans. I simply washed and rinsed them with hot water before adding them to my crockpot.

*I need to make it clear that this recipe makes a boat-load. 6 quarts to be exact. So, if you don't have the room in your crockpot, or your freezer for that matter, consider cutting the recipe in half.

Enjoy!

There it is... all the nutrient-packed goodness that goes into this dish. The onions are not diced, (I call for dicing them in the actual recipe below) but owing to personal preference, next time I will definitely dice them.

Add the water. It'll be a perfect fit for your 6-quart crockpot. Cover with a lid, let it cook on HIGH for 6 hours. (Yep... 6 hour ons HIGH to get the veggies super soft and mash-able. Mashing up the veggies into oblivion is how I trick my kiddos... What tomatoes?)

Serve yourself a steaming bowl, and pat yourself on the back for treating your body so well.

DIRECTIONS
Rinse lentils and black beans. Discard any small pebbles or bad beans. Put them in the slow cooker. Add the diced onions, chopped carrots, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, chili powder, parsley, and HOT water to the crockpot. It will be full.

Cover, and cook on HIGH for 6 hours. No peeking, no stirring.

Remove the lid, and add the salt and pepper to taste. Use a potato masher to mash the soup into a thicker mixture if desired. Serve hot. This soup is very thick (especially if mashed)... almost like chili, and tastes great by itself, over rice, served with multi-grain crackers, or with cornbread.

It went very well! The consistency after a light mashing was fantastic. I barely had to mash at all. Flavor good. We use Nu-Salt instead of regular salt to reduce sodium, and it tasted great even with that change. Many bean recipes do not do so well with a salt substitute. My husband thanks you. I thank you. I haven't found a recipe here that hasn't worked! You are awesome!

I am going to try this tomorrow! You have inspired me to rededicate my self to penny pinching! haha. We are trying to eat healthier and cheaper which can be hard at times, but I know it can be done. Thanks for sharing all these great ideas!! I just bought coconut oil yesterday to make the tortillas you have on here. I am sure it is not as cheap, but I couldn't get myself to buy the crisco and with oil I just can't get them to not be dry. So, we'll see how it goes and if it will be cost efficient at all :/.

I made this recipe the other day and I absolutely LOVE IT! I added a fair amount of chili powder to the recipe for a little umph. I love how you can use this for so much - over a potato, on rice, all by itself, as a side dish, etc.

Is there any chance that you might get a twitter account for this site?

Yay! I'm happy you enjoyed it so much. :) As far as the twitter account goes... I've never even looked into twitter. (Does that make me super uncool or what?) So far, I've been keeping my social media outlets to a minimum, just because I don't want this site to turn into a full-time job. It truly is a nap-time hobby... or when my husband has a night shift. I only post on here once or twice a week, but I do try to make the posts meaningful. Who knows what the future holds for Twiitter? We'll have to wait and see... :)

Would this taste good with cheese on top? I know it would move it would move it out of the vegan category and add to the cost a little. I am just trying to decide if my kids would go for it. I know cheese makes a big difference in how they will eat chili. Thanks for the recipe.

To be honest, I have no idea. I've never tried it. My personal opinion is that cheese wouldn't help it, because the flavors are so different... but you could always give it a try. (What do I know, anyway? :)

On the other hand, maybe your kids would like it with a little shredded cheese, and use tortilla chips to dip into it... takes away some of the healthy aspects, but your kids might like it better, and it's never fun to make a big healthy dish only to have your kids turn up their noses at it.

I put cheese on almost all tomato-y and cumin-y soups and it helps me a ton! Also most bean soups are good with sour cream mixed in :) (And sour cream and cheddar together?! I can eat a plain bowl of beans if it has that combo!)

I'm about to get this in my stock pot on the stove right now and can't wait to try it tonight! Thanks for the recipe!

I tried this recipe tonight. The flavor is really good but my black beans did not cook all the way after almost 8 hours on high. Do you think perhaps I should have added more water? I cut the recipe in half and used my 3 quart slow cooker instead of my 6 quart.

Wow! I'm surprised! Unless you had no liquid left after 8 hours on high, you still would have had liquid for them to soak up. Black beans do take longer than other beans to cook... but still. I've never not had them done when they've been in the pot for 8 hours on high. Are you sure you added HOT water to the crockpot before you started cooking? That's the only other thing I can think of.

We're moving in 6 weeks from Poland back to the US (Thank you, US Army!), and I'm trying to use up all the food in my cupboard. I made this recipe last night and enjoyed it. Quite tasty, though not a hit with the kids. They're picky. Unless it's kielbasa or a broccoli, they won't eat. Actually, I threw a few kielbasa in the stew for them. Instead of water, I used homemade chicken stock, as I had it on hand. Thanks so much for the recipe; you've got a new fan here.

If I use canned black beans (that I canned myself from bulk beans!) would I add them at the end or throw them in at the start? Note: I love your recipes; keep 'em coming! Refried beans and pancakes are regulars around our house.

It turned out heavenly! I'm making it again tomorrow! Also, I made your pizza dough and crust and looooooved them. As did the four other folks in my house. Oh! And the rolls! I've never been able to get rolls to rise so well! -Hilary

Delicious! This was the first recipe I used to break in my new slow cooker, and it came out wonderfully. Consider using 1 1/2 Tbsp of creole seasoning instead of salt - it adds plenty of saltiness, but a bit of kick as well. Delicious, and it freezes perfectly; my frozen portions of soup tasted and felt no different than the fresh ones.

Had to sit on my daughter to get her to try it and then I had to sit on her to keep her out of the pot after her second bowl. Added a small dash of bacon flavored salt to each bowl and it was FANTASTIC.

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